Harry Potter and the Rousing of the Lion
by MuggleMike
Summary: Starting directly after the OoTP Harry deals with his inner demons. Dealing with his past, learning of his heritage, new powers, new classes, and finding a new love will provide all the necesary elements for an interesting sixth year at Hogwarts. Can he d
1. Chapter 1 Waking Up to Life

Harry Potter and the Rousing of the Lion

Chapter 1 – Wake up to Life

It was a hot, dry day in Little Whinging, Surrey. The summer looked to be the like previous one, not a single cloud in the sky, only the smouldering heat emerging from the sun, threatening to melt anyone or anything that stood under its rays. The only difference from the previous summer was the fact that the authorities hadn't implemented the hosepipe ban, so although it was close to being 40oC, you could see children playing in their yards with hosepipes, water guns, build-it-yourself swimming pools, and the like. Noise and laughter could be heard coming from all over the place, except from Number 4 Privet Drive.

Inside number 4, it was business as usual. Like any summer, or any day, more accurately, you could see the long neck of a bony woman, Petunia Dursley, watching carefully the comings and goings of her neighbours, criticizing in exquisite detail everything she saw to her husband Vernon, a huge beefy man that sat down to eat his cholesterol-filled breakfast before heading off to work.

"I tell you, Vernon, the nerve of some people, allowing their children to run around like savage beasts. I'm so glad our Dudders is too old to be influenced by them."

"Dudley, influenced by them? Ha," began Vernon "Just as soon as he comes back from that boxing camp of his, he will sure teach those hooligans a lesson. I don't need to remind you, Petunia, that Dudley is exactly what every one of them dreams of becoming." He gave her a huge smile, downed his cup of coffee, and got up.

"Well, I'm off, not looking forward to spending too much time in the car in this heat." As he gathered his things, he stopped at the door and turned back to Petunia, "Is he dead yet?" He said while moving his head to see up the stairs towards the door of the smallest bedroom.

"Let's hope not, Vernon. If anything happened to him, you know we would never hear the end of it from _his_ sort of people. We wouldn't want any of them coming around here. He knows when the meals are served, if chooses to stay in his room and stare out the window like he has done since he got here, then let him."

Vernon didn't look to happy about letting him be, as it were. You could say that he rather enjoyed grinding down on his nephew every chance he got. Somehow, though, this summer seemed different. When they picked him up, he got in the car and stared out the window. When they got home, he grabbed his things and without a word he walked to his room, closed the door and sat down in front of the window staring off into space. He didn't act as if he were looking for something, or found the exterior interesting; he merely stared, not saying a word to anyone.

The abnormal boy they referred to so scathingly was Harry Potter, a skinny looking boy with messy black hair and emerald green eyes. Although considered abnormal by them, he was perfectly normal to anyone else. The only thing different about him was that he was a wizard. He was a wizard who had just finished his fifth year in Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. Although the Dursleys hated having him in their home, you could say they had been "persuaded" to take him in. Since then, Harry's life had come as close to a living hell as it possibly could. He would usually stand up for himself and didn't allow himself to be bullied by them, especially after learning of his gift. This summer, however, Harry came back to his hell home just having witnessed the death of his godfather, Sirius Black, with all of his life and fight appearing to have left him.

"I still think he's up to something. Nobody stays in their room for three weeks straight! The only time I've seen him out of it he's either using the loo or the other day when he came down, filled a pitcher with water and walked straight up. His abnormality just seems to be getting worse."

"I don't know, Vernon. He looks depressed to me. Probably trying to call attention to himself."

"Yes, that might be it. The boy would have to be amazingly stupid to think such a ploy would work here! Just keep an eye on him, Petunia." With that he turned around and headed for work.

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Harry could hear the sounds of his aunt and uncle downstairs. He could hear them, but he didn't listen. It didn't matter. At this point, nothing really mattered. Harry sat there, back straight, making himself uncomfortable as he watched the same images he had been seeing since his return from Hogwarts. It was as if someone had videotaped everything that happened last June in the Department of Mysteries, and had left it playing and looping. Again and again Harry could see how his "stunt", for that's what he called it now, had gone wrong. Everything about it was wrong, and it cost him a lot more than he was willing to loose. He saw how his stubbornness had endangered his friends, but most of all it took Sirius away from him. All day, everyday, Harry replayed the look on Sirius' face when he was struck by the curse, and in slow motion how he fell through the veil, never to be seen again. Every time he saw it, Harry could only say a few words, "I'm sorry, it was my fault."

His stomach grumbled as it did every hour now, but Harry had come to believe that eating was a privilege he could do without. Why should he get to eat something when Sirius could no longer? Why should he be comfortable when it was his fault that Sirius was dead? Why should he be happy? Why should he feel at all? These and many other similar questions plagued Harry's mind as he saw the saw images yet again.

When his mind really got tired of replaying these images, they switched the channel to the talk Harry had with Dumbledore at the end of term. Needless to say, this didn't help matters any. Not only was he now responsible for the death of his parents, Cedric Diggory, and now his godfather, now it was expected, or foretold, that he was the saviour of the world.

"Great," he would say to himself, "Acting the hero and having a saving-people-thing got my godfather killed, now Dumbledore expects ME to kill Voldemort! Why? Why is it always me? Why is it that Dumbledore or an ADULT can't take care of this? I mean, if I don't kill Voldemort he will rule the world. Ok, no pressure. YEAH RIGHT! Come on, I'm just a kid for Merlin's sake."

He would cry and complain to himself about this as well. By this point, Harry was exhausted, both mentally and physically. He would always come back to considering giving up, to let someone else carry the burden. In the end though, he knew he couldn't give up, not only because he never gave up before, but because he knew it would be a poor way to repay those that died because of him.

If he would have really been looking out the window, he would have seen a very small feathery ball bobbing up and down in front of him. He was shaken from his thoughts when the ball hit his forehead and started chirping loudly. Harry recognized it immediately as his best friend Ron's owl Pig, so he did what he did since the start of the summer. He fiercely grabbed Pig from the air as if he were a snitch, tore the letter from his foot, and calmly, yet forcefully, threw him out the window. Any other owl would have been highly irritated by this conduct, but it seemed Pig considered it a game of sorts, so he chirped loudly outside and headed home. He had received several letters from Ron, but he never opened them, he just put them in pile on the top left had corner of his desk, and went back to replaying the same thoughts in his head.

Before long, the sky was dark, and the only lights Harry could see from his window were the yellow fluorescent lights coming from the street lamps. While still slumped in his thoughts, his attention was called again by his white owl, Hedwig. Harry had sent Hedwig to Hermione in the beginning of the summer with instructions to stay with her. It was safe to say that the plan failed miserably. She not only wrote to him once or twice a day, but Hedwig refused to stay away from Harry for long, so she would come back at night, with a letter from Hermione, and dinner on her beak. She would drop the letter on Harry's hands, eat her catch in her cage, drink, and then take her place on his shoulder. She appeared to be looking for her master answer, never moving from her sentinel position until around noon, where she would fly to Hermione's. Sometimes Harry didn't realize, or better yet ignored, the new letter until Hedwig gave a hard squeeze on his shoulder where he would say "Oh, thanks" and place the letter on the top right hand corner of his desk. Like Ron's, he hadn't opened a single one of her letters, so the pile was now getting big. In the back of his mind, he was starting to tell himself he was being childish and stupid for ignoring those who obviously cared for him, but then he would think about all the people that had died because of him, and decided not to read or reply.

As every previous night, Harry fell to his regular uneasy sleep, sitting on his chair, dreaming of Voldemort, the Department of Mysteries, and Dumbledore. He had been dreaming the same weird scene for weeks now. He knew it wasn't anything important, it just reflected his state of mind. He would be standing in the entrance to the Ministry in front of the Fountain of Magical Brethren with Voldemort on one side and Dumbledore on the other.

"It's your fault you know, Potter," Voldemort would always start, "if you would have just done as you were told, he would still be alive."

Then he would laugh, but his laugh was not his own, but Bellatrix Lestrange's as her form took Voldemort's place.

"Oh, little Potty feels all alone now. Did you really think you could do something? Don't you know by now, against the power of the Dark Lord, there can be no victory." Then she would shriek with laughter.

"You killed him, I'll kill you the next time we meet! Count on it." Harry yelled back at her.

"Empty threat, Potter. You can't even get yourself to stand, let alone do anything to me." Her cackle getting worse.

Harry then turned to face Dumbledore and yelled at him, "You should have told me about EVERYTHING, then I would now WHY I shouldn't be coming here. You're not supposed to make mistakes. You're Dumbledore, the greatest wizard of this age!" By now, Harry was crying as well as screaming at Dumbledore. "You can't have me used to the idea that you know everything and then it happens that you made a mistake that cost ME my godfather. You sit there now crumbling your enlightened man image and in place start crying! I don't need you to cry, I need you to be strong and all-knowing as always."

The nightmare would get more emotionally draining when Dumbledore would look up, with a tear instead of a twinkle in his eye, and say, "Well, what do you want me to say, Tom's right, it is your fault that Sirius died."

Harry would be shaking in his chair while the nightmare continued. In it he would then turn to the fountain to find the witch and wizard playing paddy cake, while the house elf rode the centaur as if he were a bucking bronco. Confused, he would turn over to the fireplace, where it went from bad to worse. The fireplace would burst with green flames showing the people that went with him to the Department of Mysteries.

_Flash!_ Neville's head would appear, "Gee, Harry, why did you bring us here? Did you want us to get killed?"

"Neville, I never wanted…"

_Flash!_ Neville's head would disappear and Luna's would appear in his place, "Just because my father published your article doesn't mean you can gamble with my life, Harry."

"Luna, I wasn't…"

_Flash!_ Luna turned into Ginny, "So, what, saving me from a basilisk wasn't big enough for you, you had to try against Death Eaters!"

Harry was starting to get angry at their accusations, "Ginny, you know…"

_Flash!_ Ginny became Ron, "Damn it, Harry! You ALWAYS get me knee deep in Dragon Dung with your stupid adventures. Why don't you just give it a rest already with the Hero business and leave us alone?"

Harry knew who was next, and his anger turned into sorrow, for as many times as he saw her, he couldn't bear the thought of what she said actually happening.

_Flash!_ Ron turned into Hermione, "Harry, I almost died because of you…"

Every time he heard her say this, he would fall of his chair and wake up. He would then remember Hermione's words and start to cry, while crawling to his bed. Once there, he would cry himself to sleep.

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Hermione woke up from an uneasy sleep. She dreamed that she was trying to get to Harry. To help, to grieve with him. She would be standing outside a castle and would look up to find him sitting on a windowsill in the topmost tower. She could see no way to get to him but the stairs. So, she would run up the stairs as fast as she could, but not get any higher. Just when she thought she was about to reach his landing, the stairs turned into a slide and slid her all the way out of the castle. She would stand up to try again, only to find Harry's body sunk into the earth just bellow the windowsill he was sitting on earlier. Dumbledore would then appear and just say,

"You didn't get to him in time." Madam Pomfrey would then come and take Harry's body.

She would always wake up after this, never forgetting the outline on the ground that was left behind by Harry's body. She knew Harry was not well. He hadn't answered any of her letters, and from what she gathered from Ron, he wasn't writing to anybody. She could also confirm that with the arrival of Hedwig in the beginning of the summer. She hadn't forgotten Harry's words to her in his only letter to her.

_Hermione,_

_Please take care of Hedwig for me. She's going to need someone to look out for her since I won't really be up to it._

_I'm fine. Don't worry. See on the Platform 9 ¾ Sept. 1st. _

_Harry_

Not only did she not believe that he was fine, the fact that he was saying he would see her until the end of the summer was not a comforting at all. She knew she had to do something, she just couldn't decide on what. She needed to be with him, but she knew that if she got there with the whole Order of the Phoenix entourage Harry would not only close himself off, he would be angry at her for it; neither of which was going to help. If she could just get to him on her own, she knew then she could do something to help. One thing she knew for sure, she could not stand idly by and wait for the worst to happen.

The sun was rising on the horizon, and as she it, she vowed to herself to see Harry today. She got up, showered, changed into denim shorts and sleeveless pink shirt, gathered her hair in a ponytail, packed a small bag, and went downstairs to her kitchen. She learned from an early age that it was always better to ask her parents for something when she had already done something for them. So she brewed a fresh pot of coffee, and began making some eggs. By the time her parents reached the kitchen, the table was set and breakfast was waiting for them.

"Wow, Hermione, everything looks wonderful," her mom said.

"And tasty," continued her dad having sampled a piece of bacon. They all sat down to enjoy the meal in the kitchen. By the time they were done and Hermione started to pick up the plates, her dad spoke.

"Ok, sweetie, out with it. What is it you want?"

"Me, what ever gave you the idea I wanted something? Can't a girl cook breakfast for her hard working parents?" Mr. Granger looked at her and raised an eyebrow. "Ok, fine, now before you say anything, let me just say that I could have easily sneaked out to do it and had you both worried sick, but I chose not to."

"This doesn't bode well," Mr. Granger said under his breath.

"Now, as I told you before things in the wizarding world are somewhat hectic, and against his will, Harry is always right smack in the middle of it. Now at the end of last summer, Harry lost his godfather in an attack, something I'm sure he's blaming himself for. He won't talk to anybody and I've been having nightmares about what he might do if he doesn't get help. He needs a friend there with him, someone who will listen to everything he has to say and not judge it or reprimand him for it. More importantly, I think he needs a shoulder to cry on. So, having said all that, I want to go visit Harry, and stay with him for a couple of days."

The silence in the kitchen was nerve-wracking. She knew her dad was about to go ballistic with the idea of his only daughter staying a boy's house. However, their expressions were hard to read. They turned to each other, then to Hermione, then back to themselves. Hermione couldn't bare the silence anymore, so she spoke up.

"Ok, I'm done for now, you can say something."

"Well sweetheart, it not like we weren't expecting something like this." Hermione's eyes widened with shock "I mean' you might not know it, but you scream rather loudly sometimes in your sleep," her mother said.

"That's why we have been checking on you so much at night. Its just that you staying over part I'm not comfortable with."

"Dad, do you trust me?"

"Of course, sweetie. It's not just the fact that you would be alone with Harry, although THAT is big issue, it's also his relatives. I mean you could not find a worse family if you tried."

"Dad, I know that I'm asking for a lot, but I need to know for both our sakes that he's alright. I won't be able to rest before I know that."

Mr. Granger took a rather long sip from his cup, looked at Hermione intently, and then spoke,

"Ok, here are my conditions. You will take my cell phone. You will call the house everyday at 8 p.m. on the dot to make sure you're OK. You will call if there is any, and I mean any emergency, so we can go get you. Also, if that sorry excuse for a family does ANYTHING to you, you call me and let me know."

Hermione's face lit up when she heard her father talk. She wasn't too fond of calling home all the time, but she knew it was the best offer she could get. She got up, gave her father a great hug and big kiss and said "Thank you" a thousand times, then did the same for her mother.

"Well, we better get going, it's a long way to Surrey. Hermione, I see you're packed." She said glancing at Hermione's backpack just outside the kitchen. "By the way," she said looking at her husband, "you owe me lunch." Hermione looked from one parent to another to see what this could mean, but she shrugged it off.

-----------

With that the Grangers got into their car and drove. They called their secretary to tell her they would be arriving late due to a family emergency. As they drove, Hermione was rehearsing what she would say to the Dursleys when she got there. She knew they would not want to let her in, even less stay with them, but that the least of her worries. She was scared about her confrontation with Harry. Everything had to be done carefully, since he would surely be on edge. She was distracted by her father's voice calling her.

"We're here, sweetie. Now, here's my phone, and its charger. Don't forget, call if you need anything, or if anything happens. We'll be waiting for your call tonight. Oh, and here," he gave her a wad of money containing close to 300 pounds, "just in case."

"Take care of yourself, and of Harry," her mom said, giving her a kiss and hug. Hermione said goodbye, took a deep breath, and turned to walk up to the Dursleys' door.

As she walked up, she could tell that the garden needed tending. This meant they weren't forcing Harry to work. While this would generally be good news, right now it meant that Harry had nothing to distract himself with.

It was mid-afternoon, which meant Harry's uncle was still at work. That was good, since she considered it would be best to deal with Aunt Petunia than with Vernon. She walked up to the door and rang the bell. Apparently, Harry wasn't opening doors either since his aunt opened the door. She looked at Hermione, gave her a fake smile and said "No, thank you, not interested" and slammed the door before she could say anything. Hermione took another deep breath and rang the bell again.

Petunia was clearly annoyed with the fact that the girl didn't get the hint. "Like I said, not interested."

She was about to close the door when Hermione put her foot on the door and said, "I'm not selling anything. I'm here to see Harry."

If Aunt Petunia was shocked by her placing her foot in the door she was floored when she asked for Harry. "He's not receiving visitors at the moment, nor is he ever since he hardly ever leaves his room. So, kindly take your foot from the door and leave."

"I think you and I should talk inside," she told her.

"And why would I allow another freak inside my house, and even yet to have her talk to me?"

"Because although you'll never admit it, you know there's something wrong with Harry. I'm here to help him, although he doesn't know that yet. Most importantly though, because if you and I continue to speak out here, think what the neighbours might say," she knew that this last statement would make it or break it for her.

Petunia eyed her suspiciously, clearly weighing the options she had. Suddenly her glare softened and she moved aside to allow her inside. Petunia rapidly closed the door and ushered her into the living room. She took the hint, and sat directly in front of her and got straight to business.

"My name is Hermione Granger. I go to school with Harry. I would first of all like to thank you. I know that this was not an easy decision for you and that you probably don't care either way, but I thank you nonetheless. You mentioned Harry stays in his room. Could you tell me what he's been doing?"

Petunia was still eyeing her closely, "Ever since he got here he hasn't said a single word. All he does is sit in his room and stare out the window. He doesn't appear to be looking for anything, he just sits straight as a board, and stares. He's had about half a meal each day, by choice, mind you, the he fills a pitcher of water and goes back to his room. At night, I have sometimes heard him crying a bit. Now, go up, talk to him, and please leave before 8 since Vernon will be arriving at that time."

Hermione knew that she had to talk to her about her prolonged stay. "Look, Mrs. Dursley, I know that my being here is already a stretch for what you usually do for Harry, but you also now very well his problem won't get sorted in a couple of hours. I need to stay with him." Petunia's eyes grew wide at this, but before she could say anything, she continued, "We won't be doing anything like that. Harry needs to grieve over a recent loss close to his heart. I'm hoping he will open up to me, but I need some time. I swear that we will keep out of your way, as I am also willing to pay for my stay and the inconvenience."

Petunia stayed still and quiet. She knew how Vernon would react, not only giving Harry a female stay-over friend, but a witch nonetheless. In the end, Petunia knew she had to give something to Harry, at least this late in his life.

"Alright, Ms. Granger. I know that it will certainly not be alright with Vernon, but I think I owe Harry this. Never have I seen him so rundown, even with the harsh treatment we give him. I owe it to him and to my sister. He'll be an adult soon, and from what I hear he's kind of important to your lot, so just stay in his room until Vernon leaves. I will allow you to have lunch with us. Other than that, you're on your own."

"Those terms would be fine, and I thank you again."

As Hermione got up and walked to Harry's room, she thought about the conversation she had just had. She had been very respectful and thanked Petunia a lot, more than she deserved probably, but it was best to be civil. After all, if she got defensive right away, she would not have gotten anywhere. She also thought about her comment about Harry being "rather important to your lot." "You have no idea," Hermione said to herself.

She reached Harry's door and stared at it for a few minutes. This was what she came for. She had passed all the other obstacles, now it time to get to work. She was hesitant, and scared out of her mind thinking she might not be able to handle it. She thought of Harry and all doubt and fear left her, "He would do the same for me," she thought, and with that she opened the door and entered.

Once inside, she caught the smell of the room. The majority of the room was untidy, with clothes thrown all over the place, but the worst was where she saw Harry. He was sitting there, back straight, staring out the window. From his smell, she could see that it had been a while since his last shower. He was sitting in his boxer shorts and a T-shirt. His desk didn't have a single empty spot. It was covered with what looked to be about fifty unopened letters, the majority of which were hers. She walked closer and was now directly behind him. She could see letters from Ron, Remus Lupin, Ginny, Luna, Neville, even Professor Dumbledore's letters remained closed. On top of the pile was a long black scroll with gold lettering that read: _Black Family Trust_. She could tell this was not helping matters. She moved to his side and moved a hand in front of his face. He didn't move, as if he were a mannequin or something. If she hadn't had that conversation with Petunia, she would have been concerned. Seeing this was going to take longer than expected, she left Harry's room, found Dudley's room, carried a chair out of his room and took it into Harry's. She placed her chair besides the desk giving her back to the window and stared at Harry. It was important that he made the first move, or he might quickly lose his temper, and everything would go downhill from there.

So she sat there, looking at him and wished every five minutes she was a legimens. The sky had turned black and Hedwig came in with her dinner. Hermione could see Harry was still looking out the window, so she grabbed a sandwich from her bag and ate a piece. By the time she was done with her sandwich, she saw Harry had dozed off. What scared her the most was that Harry maintained his posture. After a while, he began to shake. Hermione was clearly alarmed and figured now was the time to jump in when she saw him fall to the floor. He took hold of Harry's arms and called to him. She kept at it until his eyes opened in shock, looked straight at her, and said, "I'm sorry, Hermione," and with that he began to cry, and although he had tears still flowing from his face, he was now asleep. She had tears falling freely down her cheeks. She amazed herself when she carried Harry over to his bed. She cradled his head in her arms and rubbed his back slowly, just as she remembered her mom used to do to her when she had a nightmare when she was younger. She could feel him start to relax under her touch.

"Shhhh, Harry, I'm with you now." And with that they both fell into the most comfortable sleep they had had in a long while.

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By the time Hermione woke up, the sun had risen, and noise could be heard coming in through the window. She glanced over to the clock on Harry desk to find it to be almost noon. She amazed herself at sleeping this long, then looked down at Harry, whose head was still on her lap.

"I guess we both needed a goodnight's sleep," she said, as she gently stoked his hair. He was still asleep, and he seemed calm, as if he got a break from carrying a huge load by himself. Hermione knew this assessment was not far from the truth. She wanted to go the loo, and perhaps change, since she was still wearing what she wore the day before. She convinced herself she should wait, she wanted to, no needed, to be there when Harry woke up. He was more relaxed now; he would be easier to approach as he was instead of trying to wake up a life-size doll. So she continued to move her fingers through his hair, trying to massage his head at the same time. He started to stir, but kept his eyes closed. He reminded her of Crookshanks, her cat, who moved like this when she petted him.

"Mmm, that feels good," Harry spoke, "it's a shame I'm still dreaming."

He took in a deep breath and opened his eyes slowly as he sat up on his bed, back towards the door. He couldn't see very well since didn't have his glasses on, which he didn't remember having removed, but he saw someone in front of him, someone who handed him his glasses. "I must still be dreaming," he thought as he put his glasses on. The person came into focus to reveal Hermione giving him a shy smile. He looked away from her shaking his head in disbelief. He looked back, and she was still there. He stared at her, pinched himself, and yelled.

"Holly Hell!" he screamed as he fell backwards out of his bed, rolled and smacked the back of his head against his door.

"Well, it's nice to see you, too," she said, giving him an even bigger smile.

"What are you doing here? When did you get here? How did you get past the Dursleys? Why are you in my room?"

"Harry, calm down. Ok. I got here yesterday, your aunt allowed me to stay, and I'm here because, although you'll probably never admit it, you needed a friend to be with you," she finished softly.

"Well, I appreciate your concern and all, but I'm fine. I'm dealing with things on my own perfectly well," he said, not looking at her and stared out the window. "Thanks for dropping by, but as you can see, I'm very busy. I'll see you at the start of term, alright?" With that he got up, opened the door for her, and went and sat down in his chair, straight as a board and looked out the window.

Hermione couldn't decide if this was good or bad. She was expecting him to be like before, full of anger and rage, but his expressionless face and empty voice sent a shiver down her spine. She got up, and went to use the restroom to freshen up. This was going to be a long day. She went back to Harry's room, picked up the empty pitcher, and walked down to the kitchen. It was empty, as was the rest of the house, which made her feel uneasy. She shrugged it off, filled the pitcher with lemonade from the fridge, made a couple sandwiches, and went back to the room. She placed the pitcher and the plate with sandwiches on the desk, and sat exactly like she did yesterday. For now, she would play it his way, but soon she was ready to take drastic measures.

It had been three days since the "silent treatment" started, and she was just about ready to call it quits. By now she had memorized every detail of his face, from the length of his scar, to the wrinkles on his forehead, to his empty, cold, green eyes. Those eyes were always full of love, full of life. You could feel the heat coming from them when he looked at you. Now they were a barren wasteland, devoid of the life they had before. She still cuddled him at night, since he had fits just like the day she got there. When he woke up, he would say two words "Hi" and "Bye." It was only the conversations she had with her parents at night that kept her from going insane.

As the fourth day started Hermione showered, changed, and was ready for action. She didn't bother to bring any food or drink this time; she walked straight into the room and closed the curtains.

"Do you mind, I was kind of watching that," she heard him say.

"Well, if you want to be able to see China from here, you won't be able to. Now, look at me."

He didn't move. He took a deep breath and stared at the closed curtains.

"Then, I'm sorry for this, Harry."

SLAP! She slapped him hard across the face. Harry turned to her, not with an angry glare, but with a confused and shocked expression.

"Snap out of it, Harry! This isn't helping you to deal with anything. It's simply destroying who you are! Can't you see that there are people who care for you?" she said as she threw a handful of letters in his face. Hermione was crying now, "Can't you see that they need you? That your friends need you? That I need you?"

"Hermione, you don't understand. It's my…"

"Stop it, Harry. Stop right there. What happened isn't your fault! Every tragedy that has happened to you in the past is not your fault. You can't blame yourself for everything that happens. Blaming yourself won't change things. It doesn't matter how much you want things to have been reversed, or anything like that, things are the way they are for a reason."

"I thought you didn't believe in all that divination, destiny crap," he said, his voice still with a heavy, empty tone.

"I don't, not really. But don't you understand? You can't worry yourself over what you can't control. You can't control who lives or dies, nobody can. All you can do is be thankful for what they did while they were here. Treasure the memories, but use them to make you stronger, don't allow them to consume you."

"That's just it, Hermione, I told Cedric to take the cup with me, and what happened? He got killed. I ignored you and everyone else and allowed myself to get tricked and led all of you into danger and got Sirius killed! It was all my fault. I mean, YOU almost died because of me," he finished, remembering his dreams as single tear dropped down his cheek.

"Look at me, Harry, damn it, look at me!" He turned towards her. "You took the cup with Cedric because neither of you was going to allow themselves to be sole victor. That's the kind of person you are, the kind of person Cedric was. He was older than you, Harry, and I'm sure, seeing the kind of person he was, he would have looked out for you instead of himself. I could almost say that if Voldemort gave him the choice of who died, he would never pick you." Harry looked down at the floor, as she continued. "It was the same with Sirius. He had to be there for you, and I'm sure he would give up anything for you, even his life, just to make sure you were ok, and had a future. He loved you, Harry, as a son. He wouldn't want you to forget to live, just because of what happened."

Harry looked up at her "Dumbledore once told me it does not do to dwell on dreams, and forget to live. Why is it that those who love to me too much have to die? Am I destined to be alone, to die alone?" he was crying harder and fell to the floor.

Hermione was quickly at his side and wrapped him in huge hug and he wept on her shoulder. How could she respond to his questions? It was always Harry who lost someone dear to him.

"That's it, Harry, let it all out. Not everyone that loves you has left you, and you are most certainly not alone. Some are right here with you, and those passed on never leave you. You can always feel them and hear them here," she said, crying with him and placing his hand on his chest. "I'll always be here with you, Harry, if you'll let me."

Hermione was pouring out her soul to Harry. Telling him everything she felt for him, every way she loved him. For she had known for a while now that she loved him. She never said anything, nor acted like it, but at the moment she didn't care. She broke down with him and cried. Both clinging on to each other for comfort.

--------------

A couple hours later, Harry stirred in Hermione's arms. Se looked down at him to see a glimmer of her old friend back. She knew this would take time after all.

"Feeling better?"

"A bit, yeah."

"Good, that means you can get up and hop in the shower while I make us some lunch, ok?"

"Alright." He didn't feel too much like arguing with her after all she had done for him. Also, after taking a whiff of his armpit, he could see that he clearly needed it. So, he got up and went into the bath room.

As he closed the door behind him, he looked at himself in the mirror. He was a mess. His eyes looked tired, the skin was hanging of his bones and his hair was all over the place. He felt like Remus Lupin, his former Hogwarts professor and friend, must feel after his werewolf transformations.

"At least that didn't change much," he said to himself as he jumped into the shower. The warm water was reminding him of all stiff muscles and joints he had gotten due to his routine. It was nice to step out and feel clean and new. He still hadn't gotten the closure he needed, but it was a work in progress. He knew very well that it was thanks to Hermione. She came when no one else did. She came for him. She saved him from himself. He remembered everything she said. He never knew she felt that way. He thought he would feel surprised or awkward towards her after hearing this, but he didn't. As he shaved the few hairs on his face, he thought back to the first time he met her. So she was a bossy know-it-all at first. This Harry knew by now to be her defence mechanism against those she didn't know. As they became friends, she was always there to help him out. She would always worry about him when he got hurt, which he now felt bad for, since it happened a lot. She was always there for him, she believed him without question. She would follow him, even with her reservations, to every stupid and dangerous adventure he ever thought of. She was always by his side. His one true constant. Ron came and went depending on his mood and insecurities, Dumbledore was no longer perfect, Lupin couldn't always be there for him because of Order business, and the others well, they didn't know him that well. Hermione did though. She could look at Harry and know what he was thinking. She was his rock.

"Great," he said as he slapped himself on the forehead, "it only took you five years to figure that what you were always looking for was right in front of you." He got up, and left for the kitchen.

-------------------

As Harry was in the shower, Hermione got a piece of parchment a quill and wrote a long letter to Dumbledore. When she finished she walked over to Hedwig and tied it to her leg.

"I'm sorry to be such a bother Hedwig, but I really need this to get to Dumbledore quick. It just might be next small step to make things better for Harry."

Hedwig gave her an understanding hoot and sped off through the window.

"I just hope he agrees with me and does things like I planned. It should be easier for him."

---------------

Hermione was sitting there, waiting for him. She prepared a couple cheese and ham sandwiches for them to go with the cold lemonade in their glasses. They ate in silence, as Harry watched Hermione carefully. She knew he was looking at her, but wasn't sure what it was all about. She decided to speak before her insecurities started to get the better of her.

"What is it?"

"Thank you, Hermione, for everything. I'll never forget what you did for me."

She smiled at him with her perfect smile. "I'll make it up to you someday, everyday," Harry thought to himself, "not because I have to do it or should do it, but because I want to do it. I just have to starting thinking about how to get started."

"So, what do we do now?" Harry asked.

"Now we wait and rest, tomorrow will be another long day, but with a little help, it just might help you along. Tomorrow, we finish old business. We have to finish old business before starting new business, just remember, Harry, baby steps."

He laughed at her softly, she got all business like all of a sudden, back to her old self, but he was game. Anything that she thought would help was welcome. It was probably going to be hard, but he knew she would be beside him, and with her, he could face anything.


	2. Chapter 2 Old Business

Harry Potter and the Rousing of the Lion

Chapter 2 – Old Business

Hermione woke up early the next morning to the soft hoots coming from Hedwig. As she glimpsed outside the window, the day looked unlike any of the previous ones. The sky had turned black, filled with thick, dark clouds. She felt the day was getting ready for the tasks ahead of them.

She sat up from the kip she had made for herself on the floor last night. She laughed as she recalled the discussion she and Harry had over their sleeping arrangements. Harry had immediately offered Hermione the bed, which she refused with the excuse that he was going to need the rest a lot more than she was. Harry, wanting to be the perfect gentleman, refused, so they went back and forth arguing until Harry realized the pointlessness of arguing with Hermione, who, after all, could be a lot more stubborn than he was. Harry did try to compromise by saying, although blushing slightly, that they should share the bed, just as they had done the previous nights. Hermione didn't have this in her list of possibilities. Not wanting to hurt his feelings, she gently declined, saying that she moved around a lot and would disturb his rest. The real reason was that now that she had expressed all her feelings towards him, she didn't trust him, or herself for that matter, to be that close, at least not now.

"Ok, Hermione, tonight we'll do it your way. Tomorrow," he looked at the puzzled expression on her face, "well, tomorrow we'll see."

She shook her thoughts by thinking of today's events. She had to keep herself as calm and collected as she possibly could. He would definitely need her every step of the way; she was there, after all, for moral support. She got up and stretched herself to her limits to shake off the stiffness of her back. Hedwig flew over to her, dropping Dumbledore's letter in front of her. She took a deep breath as she opened the letter.

_Ms. Granger,_

_I have read your letter carefully, and after looking over all the points you made, I must agree with you. Harry needs to learn to leave his past behind him, something which, as you pointed out, he never learned how to do. Since it was you took matters into her own hands in order to help him, I will grant you the honor of being his companion on this task. A word of caution, though, you must understand that for same reasons you mentioned, Harry is emotionally unstable. Not that he would hurt you, but you must take heed to not absorb the torrents of emotions he will be experiencing. I am sure that Remus, Molly, and even I would gladly accompany Harry on his journey, but have decided to side with you yet again. If you feel up to the task, it's yours. Remember now, help him, but don't do it for him._

Hermione stopped reading and debated with her subconscious. "Is there anyone else that I think should be doing this with Harry? No. Can I handle being his shoulder to cry on? I've done pretty well so far. Can you handle it? Only one way to find out."

_As per your request, all travel arrangements have been made. As for your escort, an "objective" but tactful member of the Order will arrive at 9 a.m. Please be ready to leave by then._

_Professor Albus Dumbledore_

Hermione glanced over at the clock that read 7:30 a.m. She sighed in relief seeing that they would have enough time to get ready. She grabbed her bag and went to bathroom. As she stepped out of the shower she thought about the proper dressing attire she should use. Not having much to choose from, and considering there was a storm brewing outside, she chose a pair of black slacks, and a white blouse with a red jacket over it. It wasn't exactly the color of choice, but it would have to do.

She walked back to the room finding him breathing slowly, an obvious sign that he was still asleep. She walked over to his closet to pick out what he should wear. She didn't have mush to choose from here either, considering the huge sizes of his hand-me-down clothes.

"I've got to get him some clothes of his own. I can't believe the only clothes they've ever bought for him are his underwear."

She opted for pair of his black school slacks, a navy blue button down shirt, and a black jacket. After leaving everything ready in the bathroom, she went over to wake him.

"Wake up, sleepy head," she said as she ruffled his hair with her hand.

"Ugh, five more minutes," he complained as he covered his head with his pillow.

"Come on, Harry, you've got to get ready."

"You know, I may not be the smartest bloke around, but it gets confusing between 'go to sleep' one minute and 'wake up' the other. You've got to make up your mind," he gave her a smile, and lay back down pretending to be asleep.

Hermione simply walked around the bed, got a good hold of the mattress, and with all her strength she lifted it, throwing Harry off the side. The look of shock on his face was priceless. She merely shrugged at him.

"Oops."

"Oops? What do you mean, 'Oops?'"

He called back to her, pretending to be angry with her. She pretended right back, holding his gaze. After about a minute, they both started to shake and finally burst out laughing.

"Come on, Harry, get yourself cleaned up. We have around forty five minutes to be ready."

"Don't you mean forty four minutes?" he asked cheekily, to which Hermione gave him a scowl. "Just kidding, so where are we going?"

Hermione was quiet for a while, thinking of the best way to answer.

"We're going to go places where you will hopefully find what you need to be able to let go and move on."

"Well, that settles it. That's the longest way you could have possibly thought of to say absolutely nothing. Well, kind of. Alright, keep your secrets, although it's only fair to warn you that I owe you big time for that wake-up call."

With that he turned and went to get ready, leaving her deep in thought about just what he might do.

She decided to busy herself by tidying the room up a bit. After folding the sheets she had used, and organizing his letter-filled desk, she went down towards the kitchen. It being early, she knew she was about to encounter Harry's Uncle Vernon, something she had been happy to avoid until now. She decided the best course was to be quick and polite.

"Good morning," she said as she walked over to the fridge, filled two glasses with milk, grabbed some toast on a napkin, and walked out. She had just exited the kitchen when Harry came down.

"I see you have just met good old Uncle Vernon," Harry said sarcastically.

"Not really, he just glared at me. His face looked just about ready to pop, though, and I could have sworn I saw steam coming out of his ears." Hermione replied, trying to lighten the mood.

"Yep, that's him."

"Drink up, it's almost time."

They finished their milk and toast quickly and quietly.

"Here, I should take these back. I don't want you on the receiving end of my uncle's, um, outbursts."

Hermione was a bit uneasy with the whole deal. She could hear sounds coming from the kitchen, but couldn't make out any of them. Just as she was about to go into the kitchen herself, she heard a loud knocking on the door. She looked through the peep hole and was shocked by who was standing behind it.

"Tonks! What are you doing here?" Hermione's tone was not too friendly. Tonks was certainly not what she thought Dumbledore had meant.

"Well, it's a pleasure to see you, too, Hermione."

"Sorry, it's just that, well, you're…"

"Not completing the requirements for the ideal escort on grieving mission?" Hermione looked down at the floor. She didn't mean to be rude to Tonks, she was just not what she expected. At least this time her hair was brown and she was dressed rather formally. "I'm just kidding, Hermione. I'm not angry or anything. In fact, I'm actually proud of you. You seem to have a very good grasp of what Harry needs, better than most I would say, and let me say that I agree with you completely. The last thing he needs right now is someone to be molly-cuddling him. She has a good heart, Molly, but she just can't control herself. Speaking of which, where's your handsome hunk now?"

Hermione blushed deeply with this last remark. "He went to leave some glasses in the kitchen a while ago. I was just about to…"

CRASH! THUMP!

They heard the sounds coming from the kitchen as they raced inside, wands at the ready. The sight before them was the last thing they could have ever imagined. Vernon was laid out on the floor, face down, apparently knocked out, with ceramic shards around his head. Petunia was standing over him with what was left from a plate in her hands, with a look of utter terror on her face. Harry meanwhile was leaning against the cabinets with a shocked expression directed towards his aunt.

"What the hell happened here?" Tonks bellowed. "Harry, are you alright?"

"Yeah, I'm fine. Shocked, a little confused, but fine."

Hermione rushed to his side to make sure he was alright as Tonks turned to Petunia. She put on her best mean Auror face and inquired again in a soft deep threatening voice, "What happened?"

Petunia was trembling slightly. "Well, um, Harry came in to leave those glasses in the sink over there when Vernon began his usual verbal taunting and bashing at Harry. He was already on edge when she," she mentioned looking at Hermione, "left the kitchen. When he saw Harry, I guess you could say he missed mistreating him. He was enraged even further when Harry totally tuned him out. As Harry began to leave the room, Vernon got up as if he were going to slap him. Next thing I know, I'm standing here having broken a dinner plate on my husbands head." Petunia began to sob at the end. "Please, I know it might be asking too much, but could you please fix this with your, um, thing."

If Tonks was angry at the Dursleys before, she was enraged now at Petunia's dismissal of magic. She looked intently at Petunia who looked liked she was folding under Tonks stare.

"Obliviate. Obliviate. Wingardium Leviosa. Reparo. Scourgify."

In an instant both the Dursleys had their memory modified, Vernon was back in his seat, the broken dish was fixed, and the floor was cleaned. Tonks turned to face Harry and Hermione, still clearly angry at what had just taken place.

"Let's go, we're going to be late," she produced a steel horseshoe from her pocket motioning them to grab on.

"This portkey will take us to our first stop."

Harry felt the familiar tug behind him and was transported out.

-------------------

They landed hard on what Harry saw to be a heavily wooded area. Harry managed to keep his balance this time, but he helped Hermione to her feet. Harry had no idea where they were.

"Ok, now can I know where we are, and where we're going?"

"Just outside Ottery St. Catchpole, and to the Diggory's house, of course," Tonks answered. From the look on Harry face, she could tell he had no idea. She turned to Hermione who was looking down at the ground, "You mean, you didn't tell him where we were going?"

Hermione shook her head. She took a deep breath and decided to get it over with.

"Tonks, could you give us a minute," she asked, seeing that Harry was rather angry about not being told about any of this. Tonks nodded and walked several steps ahead to be out of earshot.

"Why didn't you tell me where we were going?"

She would have preferred his angry screaming to emptiness in his voice.

"Would you have come if I told you?" she asked back.

"Hermione, that's not the point, the point is…"

"The point, Harry, as we talked about yesterday, was to deal with your past. You've never dealt with any of this. You've just buried it deep inside you. Well, all those feelings you never dealt with consumed you at the beginning of the summer. You have to grieve for those you have lost. I'm not asking you to forget them; all I'm asking is for you to leave the guilt behind. It is an unnecessary burden you're carrying, it's weighing you down, and it's something that you need to learn to let go of. Most importantly, you need to learn to mourn."

Deep down, he knew she was right. The problem was that he didn't know how to do any of it. He took a deep breath and walked towards Hermione, leaving his anger behind with each step.

"How do I do that, Hermione?"

"I don't really know, Harry, but I'm here with you to help you figure it out."

Harry couldn't help but give her a small smile. She was there to help. To be with him. His one true constant. His guardian angel.

"Ok, let's go."

They walked over to Tonks.

"You ready for this, Harry?"

"No, but I'm as ready as I'm gonna be."

They were walking uphill towards what looked to be a large clearing where a house could be seen in the distance. Harry never knew much about Cedric, or his family. His was sure, though, that this was where he learned to play quidditch.

"Harry," Tonks began, shaking his thoughts about Cedric, "I must say that I'm happy, or better yet surprised, of how you handled yourself with your uncle back there. Not many people could tune out that man. Can I ask how you did it?"

Harry thought for a minute before he answered.

"I don't know," he looked over at Hermione, who wasn't looking at him, "I guess my guardian angel helped me through it," he answered simply.

Tonks looked at him as if to decipher his meaning when she glanced over at Hermione and nodded silently.

The rest of the walk was spent in silence. As they got closer, they saw that the house was, in fact, an enormous log cabin complete with a porch with a picnic table on one side, and several rocking chairs on the other. There, sitting on the rocking chairs, were Cedric's parents. Mrs. Diggory appeared to be knitting a rather large quilt, while Mr. Diggory smoked from a short pipe. As they approached, Mrs. Diggory went into the house, as Mr. Diggory stood up to greet them, standing tall and slowly, menacingly, scratching his beard below his chin.

"Tonks," Mr. Diggory greeted her with a nod.

"Amos," Tonks replied the same way. "This is Hermione Granger, I believe you saw her briefly at the Quidditch World Cup, and Harry, of course."

"A pleasure, Ms. Granger," he said to Hermione nodding as well, "but if you'll excuse us, Harry and I have a long talk ahead of us."

Amos put his arm around Harry's shoulder and guided him towards the forest behind the cabin. Harry took a breath and let himself be guided towards the forest behind the house.

"I must say, Harry, that having you here, two years to the day of Cedric's funeral is not what I thought it would be," his tone cold and very business like. "When Dumbledore contacted me to ask my permission to allow you to come here, well, let's just say I had my doubts. I won't lie to you, Harry, for a long time I held you directly responsible for what happened to my son."

Mr. Diggory paused, allowing his words to sink in.

"When you came back from Merlin knows where, with the lifeless body of my son, you were the easiest person to blame. It was also more comforting to call you a liar instead of dealing with the enormity of your accusations. I'm not as blind or as stupid as Fudge was all last year, but like many of us who witnessed the horrors of the first war, we would rather reassure ourselves by calling all of you liars instead of dealing with reality."

He looked up towards the cloud filled sky. It was still dark since only a few rays of sun could pierce through the thick dark clouds.

"I spent countless nights looking up at the stars, searching, praying for and answer, for some form of understanding. If the answer was there I never found it, so I started to pace around the grounds. It was then that the answer showed itself. I found this."

He pointed towards a tree trunk that had a snitch carved into the bark.

"When Cedric was just a young boy," he started to reminisce, now in a friendlier tone, "all he wanted was to play quidditch. Quidditch was the world to him. He would fly all over the grounds and the forest. He would drive his mother crazy with the stunts he'd pull. As he grew up, he seemed to loose the love for the game. He became more serious, quieter. When you arrived at Hogwarts, you caught Cedric's attention immediately. When he came back that summer I found him carving this, so I naturally asked him about it. He told me that when he saw you fly, he could see in you the joy he used to feel. 'Dad, he just found out he's a wizard, a famous one at that, and now he's the youngest seeker in a century.' He would say this, not in a jealous or angry tone, but giving you high praise. He said that when you took to the field, you looked like you didn't have a care in the world, you just played the game because you loved it, and you barely even knew enough about it."

He paused to allow Harry to digest everything he was saying.

"I also remember the way he admired you after you won the cup in your third year. Modest as always, he never talked about the game in which he beat you, instead he would say to me, 'Dad here's a kid who has an enormous amount of pressure on him, who defies the odds with everything he does, and he still keeps his wits about him and enjoys playing a simple game of quidditch. I mean he's competitive, no question about that, but he's the ideal sportsman on the pitch.' Safe to say it took me a while to understand what it was he saw in you."

Harry had tears coming out of his eyes. He had no idea that Cedric held him in such high regards. He couldn't see how somebody older and wiser could be praising him like that. He never even thought about all those things Mr. Diggory mentioned. Mr. Diggory grabbed Harry by the shoulders and turned Harry to face him.

"I want you to know, Harry, that none of us blame you for what happened. I'm sure that Cedric, being the kind of person he was, would not have allowed it to happen any other way."

Harry hadn't realized they were now standing before a huge oak tree. On the base of the tree, in white marble with copper lettering, was Cedric's tombstone.

R.I.P.

Cedric Diggoy

1978 – 1995

Beloved son, Gone,

Never Forgotten.

"I'll leave you here a moment to collect your thoughts."

Mr. Diggory turned and walked back to the house. Harry stared at the tombstone for about an hour without saying anything. He was replaying in his head everything he had just been told, everything he remembered about Cedric, everything Hermione said earlier. Thunder could be heard in the distance as a soft shower started to fall. The day, along with Harry, was beginning to mourn.

"I don't really know what it is I'm supposed to say," he started, his voice just above a whisper. "I don't even know if you can hear me."

He looked up towards the sky, the soft raindrops mixing with his tears.

"I have lived my life blaming myself for everything that happens around me. While I still think you died because you were with me, I won't forget the enormous sacrifice you made for me."

He tuned back to look at the tombstone.

"I never saw it as a sacrifice before, given that you really didn't get much choice in the matter, but your dad, who knew you a lot better than I did, says he's sure you would have protected me. Deep down, from the little I got to know you, I know it to be true. I just want you to know that I would have willingly given my life for yours. I promise you that I will try to live my life in an attempt to meet those qualities you mentioned to your father. I owe you at least that much. As for Wormtail, the Death Eater that killed you, I'll get him for you. He's done too much damage already."

He stood there, still looking at the tombstone. In his mind he thanked Cedric for everything he did for him, and everything he learned from him. As he did so, he felt a burden lighten in his chest, as if there had been a fist clenched around his heart that finally began to loosen its grip.

He felt someone's arms circling around his waist. He knew it was Hermione. He knew she had come to comfort him. As he felt her tighten her arms around him and place her forehead on his back, he realized that he liked the feeling of her arms around him. They told him that she was there, to care for him, to love him.

"Come on, Harry, let's get out of this rain, we have more places to visit before the day is up."

--------------

Far away, deep in the Lacandona jungle located in the southeastern part of Mexico, the outline of a man could be seen behind a rising screen of smoke. The man looked to be old, his brown skin was worn and his gray hair reached the floor. He was staring, unblinkingly, into the base of the smoke screen, just where the fire ended and smoke began. His eyes were brown, but the life seen in them was of a man in his prime. A man whose knowledge could surpass any living person on the planet. His grim, studious expression changed into a small smile.

"The first ray of light pierces into the lion's cave. Soon, there will be enough light to wake him."

Concentrating again, he threw some red flower petals into the flames, his mind focused, eyes never blinking.

-----------------------------

Harry and Hermione were sitting side by side on the picnic table on the Diggory's porch. As soon as they got back, Tonks quickly performed a drying spell on them while Mrs. Diggory handed them a mug of hot chocolate. It was around noon, although the day didn't show it, keeping its cool and ominous appearance. The rain had let up, but they knew it would get worse later.

"Harry," Hermione whispered, "Are you going to want to continue today? I don't want to push into something you might not want to do yet." Harry raised an eyebrow, giving her a quizzical look. "Well, I mean not again."

Harry thought about it as he finished his hot chocolate.

"Might as well," he said finally. "Like you said, its something I've got to do, and the sooner I do it, the better I'll feel, I think."

Hermione smiled at him, and gave him a small hug.

"Don't forget, I'll be with you every step of the way."

They got up and walked over to the grown ups, who stopped talking as they reached them.

"Ready to go then?" Tonks asked.

"Yeah," Harry answered. He turned over to face the Diggory's. "I'm very sorry for loss, and I thank you for allowing me to come by to pay my respects."

"Harry," Mrs. Diggory started, "Like I told you that day in Hogwarts, we don't blame you. We were more than happy to do this, not just for you, but for us as well. We will all miss Cedric, but those that die never leave us. They are simply waiting for us in the next life. They are waiting patiently for us, for the longer we make them wait, the happier they'll be, remember that."

Harry nodded in acknowledgement, thanked them again and turned to Tonks.

"Let's go."

She took out a 5 inch chain link from her cloak and motioned them closer.

"Impervios, Impervios. That should keep your clothes dry at least. It looks like the storm is about to break out, and where we are going, well, it's better if you stay dry."

They took hold of the chain and portkeyed away from the Diggory's home.

----------------------------

They landed on a puddle of muddy water. Rain was pouring and visibility was low.

"Not one of my best landings," Tonks yelled through the rain. "Hermione, take the path to the left, there, at the end, you'll find it."

Hermione nodded to her and grabbed Harry's hand, leading him behind her. He didn't know where they were until he saw a row of tombstones to his right and heard ocean waves crashing in the distance.

"We're in the Sacrosanctum Albion Sepulcretum, that's Latin for Sacred Cemetery of Great Britain, the oldest wizarding cemetery in all Europe. All the old families bury their family members here."

Harry saw that it was in fact a wizarding cemetery given that some gravestones had moving stone animals on top of them or enchanted flowers. Others even had impervious charms placed on them.

The walk was difficult due to the mud and small rivers that were made along the path. Up ahead, the trail broke off into two. Each of them had what appeared to be a menacing steel looking archway over it. The one on the left was made of pure silver, and had moving metallic snakes all around it. As they approached it, a large snake rose to look down on them. Harry could see that they weren't real, but they reminded him of the ones he saw in the Chamber of Secrets. The snake looked at Harry and nodded, then tuned to Hermione and shook its head. The meaning was simple, he could enter, she could not.

"This is path leads to where many pure-blooded families are buried, families like the Malfoys and the Blacks." Hermione mentioned. "As you know, Sirius ran away from home when he was sixteen, so he's not buried there, not that he wanted to. Dumbledore told me there was only one place where he would like to be buried."

Harry wanted to ask her where she knew all this from, but decided not to because she had probably come across it in a book. The rest, he figured, Dumbledore had told her. She moved towards the other archway. This one had a golden glow, warmth coming from its golden bars. It had runes carved all over it, and at the top was golden lion, sitting down on his hind legs, looking proudly towards the passageway. He looked down at Hermione as she approached him. He nodded to her, allowing her to enter, when something curious happened. As the lion turned to look at Harry, it immediately rose up in attention, and then bowed to him in a very formal, ceremonial manner. Harry was confused as to the meaning of it. Hermione stepped back, grabbed his hand, and pulled him through the archway.

"Why did that lion just bow to me?"

"I don't know," she said, looking lost in thought.

They stood now before a red tiled wall. Written in golden lettering on each tile was a surname. Hermione reached out and touched one that simply read POTTER. The wall broke off to the sides, granting them access, but the tile reading POTTER was still floating in front of them. It began to glow, illuminating the trail around them, as it began to glide down the path. They followed in silence with the anticipation of what was coming. In the end of a long row, they found that this area looked to be newer. That's where he saw it. In the distance, contrasting all the other formal, royal-looking tombstones, was a gray granite rock the same height as them. The carvings were rough but legible in the light.

Here lies

Sirius Black

Loyal Friend,

Loving Godfather

Harry completely broke down as he fell to his knees. He thought he was prepared for this, apparently he wasn't.

Hermione knew he was crying his heart out, even though she could barely hear his cries over the howling winds. She wanted to go up to him, to hug and comfort him, but she knew she had to give him some space. So, she stood there behind him, crying on her own for both Harry and Sirius.

Harry started to remember the images he had seen at the beginning of the summer but quickly tuned them out. He imagined the Sirius he grew to love as a parent, standing in front of him, looking down at him with a small smile. He tried several times to speak, but as his mouth moved, nothing came out. He closed eyes, gulped, and tried again.

"Sirius, when I had just realized that you died, I was angry with you. I was angry, because I felt you left me, here, alone."

Harry paused as he looked over his shoulder at Hermione and reminded himself that he was anything but alone. He took a deep breath and stopped crying.

"With the Diggorys' help, and especially Hermione's, I'm trying to understand, to grieve. I felt so lonely when I realized you were gone, but now I feel that you and my parents had something to do with her coming to my rescue. I never knew my parents. I mean, I know of them, I know they loved me, I just can't remember any of the good times. From you, I got so much in the little time we spent together. You understood me. You never talked down to me or treated me like a child. We were friends, best friends. I could talk to you or ask you about anything without feeling foolish or embarrassed about it."

He turned to look over his shoulder at Hermione again.

"In fact, I could really use some advice from you right now. Cedric's father told me to remember, to treasure what I had learned from those that were now gone, and, like Mrs. Diggory said, I'll see you, my parents, Cedric, and everyone else someday, but not yet. I will learn from my mistakes. I will always remember you. I want you to know that I feel that soon I'll be mentally ready to prepare myself for this fight. You gave up so much for me, I can only try to carry on in your place. I will miss your barking laugh, and your mischievous grins. I will miss you most of all. You kept your end of the deal as my guardian. I love you. Goodbye, for now."

Harry again felt the grip of the hand around his heart loosen a bit more.

----------------

Just as Harry finished, a lightning bolt flashed in the heavens illuminating the graves that were beside Sirius'. He knew whose they were, so he slowly walked over to them with less fear and more determination. Harry found the headstones to be, just like the others around them, formal and royal looking.

R.I.PR.I.P.

Lily PotterJames Potter

1960 – 19811960 – 1981

Beloved Wife and Mother Beloved Husband and Father

"Mum, Dad," he began turning to each tombstone, "I know we left a lot of things unsaid, but now I'm beginning to feel, to understand what love really is. I always imagined what it was like to be loved by someone so much that you would do anything for them. What it was like to be loved by a parent, a guardian, someone who loves you for you. I guess you could say I'm a slow learner since it only took me about sixteen years to do it. Well, better late than never, I guess."

He walked closer to the graves, having one at each side of him.

"Mum," he reached out and put his left hand on top of her tombstone, "I hope I grow up to be worth your sacrifice. I now know that you could have just stood aside, but you didn't. You willingly gave your life for me, and, in doing so, your love saved me. I'll work hard to become the son you always wanted me to be, to experience the love you felt for me."

He turned his gaze over to his father's grave.

"Dad, you also gave up your life for me. You dueled with Voldemort, knowing in the back of your mind that you couldn't win. Knowing that, you still rapidly stepped forward, blocking his way, delaying him, trying to give Mum and me time to escape. I know how brave you were, and I'll remember it when I feel my courage failing. I wish I can be just as brave as you were when my time to face him comes. Maybe, someday, when this war is over, I might even have a family of my own, and care and provide for them just as you did." He moved his right hand and placed it on his father's tombstone.

Immediately after Harry placed his hand on his father headstone, a huge lightning bolt came down from the heavens. It stopped and inch from Harry's head and created a dome of light, circling Harry and his parents' graves. Everything went quiet, even the rain could not see seen or heard. It was then he heard a voice he knew it was impossible to be hearing.

"Harry," it was his father. "Harry, don't be frightened. If you are listening to me now, it means that the worst has happened, and all my efforts to prevent it were in vain. I could not leave to next world without leaving you a message, a message that only you could open, that only you could hear, and that no one could know about. There are secrets that are a part of a family, which should remain in the family. I don't know how long it's been since I died or what has happened to you. I can only try to make sure you have all the weapons you can at your disposal, just in case this prophecy is actually true. If you haven't heard of the prophecy, ask Sirius or Albus Dumbledore, you should hopefully know who they are by now, if not, well, all in due time. Now, pay attention, Harry, because this is very important. I can only hope that you know about enough things to understand what I'm about to tell you. We, that is to say you and I, as those before me, are direct descendents of Godric Gryffindor. He had many talents that he wanted to pass on to those in his bloodline, however, he knew that as the generations passed, less of those talents would be found in his descendents. In order to prevent this, he gave each of his three children a ring. This ring he ordered for them to pass down, in secret to the first born male of each family."

Harry felt a tickle in his right hand and was shocked as he saw a simple gold band appear in his right ring finger.

"The ring was charmed to look for the Gryffindor inside its user and extract it. Fortunately, the ring only worked for those in our family, and because of the complexity of the charm placed on them, it worked only for the first born male. Godric called in a favor from an ancient order of wizards. He asked them to become the guides of those of his descendents that could unlock the power within them. Now, you must know, none of our most recent ancestors have been able to do it. Your grandfather searched through all of the historical records he could find to figure out if anyone of us ever succeeded. None have ever done so. He also told me that I was the last. Of all the Gryffindor descendents, I was the only one left. He believed that the power of the other rings had passed to our ring, which might help unlock the power inside us. Neither he nor I could do it. I can only hope that you can succeed where we have failed. You probably have many questions, but don't worry, the answers will find you. Know this, successful or not, you must pass this ring on to your first born male child upon his graduation from Hogwarts. If something should happen and you have produced and heir, don't worry, the ring will find him, just as it found you. My son, I want you to know that your mother and I love you very much. Don't walk around scared of death, it is an inescapable part of life. Don't fear death, fear the unlived life. Live, Love, cherish every moment. We will always be proud of you, and we will never really leave you. We'll be with you in spirit, always and forever. May our love give you comfort in the darkest of places, and may it also help you to overcome any obstacle that you might face."

The dome of light disappeared, to all those around, nothing had happened. Harry started walking forward. He had too many things in his mind, to many things to digest.

-------------------

The curandero closed his eyes and smiled again. He knew it was almost time to embark on his journey.

"The sun has crept into the cave; soon the lion will need his guide. Soon, he must begin to remember his past and be ready for his future."

He stood up, waved his hand over the fire and it disappeared. He bowed his head, and as the winds dispersed the smoke that remained, he vanished.

--------------------

Harry found himself to be standing on the edge of cliff that looked over the sea crashing into the rocks below. He enjoyed being back in the rain. It was no longer fierce and menacing; it was but a light breeze washing over him. On the horizon he could see clearer skies, the sun peeking its head below the clouds, beginning to set.

"Wow," he thought, "before nobody would tell me anything. Now in a month's time I'm told I am Voldemort's nemesis, his would be executioner, and now that I'm the last descendent of none other than Godric Gryffindor."

He looked up at the sky.

"No pressure, right?"

He had no idea how long he had been watching the clouds moving in the sky, clearing away the darkness. He felt Hermione standing beside him, staring off into the horizon. She could feel his gaze.

"Knut for your thoughts?" she asked, without looking at him.

"They're worth a bit more than that," he responded cheekily.

"How are you feeling?" she asked timidly.

"I have a lot on my mind, but definitely better. I owe that to one person only," he said, turning to look at her. When she turned to look at him, he continued, "I only hope Hedwig accepts an owl treat for it."

"Well, I'm sure she will," she remarked looking off again.

Harry thought she looked quite adorable when she was pouting. He sneaked around behind her and put his arms around her waist.

"Now, that old business is settled, it's time for new business," he whispered in her ear.

She turned to look at him with a questioning look. He put his hand on her cheek and caressed it softly. She closed her eyes enjoying his touch. He closed his eyes and moved his face towards hers, slowly. Just as he could feel her breath over his lips he was stopped.

"Don't," she muttered, "don't do it unless…" she looked into his life-filled eyes, "don't do it unless you mean it. I don't want you to feel that you owe me something for helping you through this. What I said before, I meant it, but don't think that because of that you should feel the same way. I mean, there are so many beautiful girls at Hogwarts that you could be with. I mean, Cho's not the only one out there who likes you. I could ask Parvati or Lavender about it, they know about all the rumors at Hogwarts. They're both beautiful and I'm sure Parvati would like to go out with you again. I know that I…"

Harry cut her off by moving in and kissing her tenderly. Hermione was shocked at first, but the feeling she felt as she kissed him surged through her body. She could feel all of Harry's emotions as they deepened their kiss, delicately touching, exploring the insides of their mouths. They broke off slowly, still being face to face.

"Well, what do you think? Do you think I meant it?"

"Well, um, I…"

He kissed her again. There, silhouetted by the orange rays of the setting sun falling behind them, they kissed slowly, lovingly, both wanting to experience their first kisses totally, committing them to memory. They broke off again, and Harry rested his forehead against hers.

"How about now?" he asked.

Hermione was unable to speak so she smiled and him and snuggled up against him.

"Let's go home," she said a moment later.

He took her hand in his and walked slowly back towards Tonks, who had an enormous smile plastered on her face.

"I trust everything went accordingly," she said looking at each them. They both blushed at the comment. "Well grab on, then," she said holding out a rubber chicken.

They looked at her skeptically, but said nothing as they grabbed on and were transported back to Privet Drive.

**A/N: I took the quote of "Do not fear death, fear the unlived life," from Tuck Everlasting. Also, curandero is Spanish for Medicine Man. Please read and review.**


	3. Chapter 3 Picking Up the Pieces

Harry Potter and the Rousing of the Lion

Chapter 3 – Picking Up the Pieces

Harry and Hermione were talking happily in the kitchen back in Privet Drive. They were surprised to find an empty house upon their return. They were shocked even further when they spotted a letter that Aunt Petunia had left taped on the kitchen door.

_Harry,_

_After what happened, I decided it was prudent to take Vernon on a rather long holiday. Safe to say, we won't be back until September. God knows he needs the rest and, well, less stressful surroundings. I don't want to have a repeat of what happened, so it's best if he doesn't see you for a while._

_I left you a key on the kitchen table and enough food to last you until you go back to school. As for the company you might want to keep, I advise you against staying in the house with only your "friend" for company. I warn you, I will not tolerate any "funny" business in my house._

_Lock everything when you leave._

_-Aunt Petunia_

Harry felt happy, scared, and nervous all at the same time. While he was happy about not seeing any Dursleys for the rest of the summer, he was scared and nervous to having a whole house for him and Hermione. One thing was for sure, he thought, things were starting to look up. Unfortunately, Hermione had different plans.

"Come on, Harry," she began after finishing her tea, "we're dating now. Do you really think you could handle being alone with only me for company?"

"Is that a trick question?"

"You know what I mean."

"I can handle anything, as long as you are with me."

"That's sweet, but I know I couldn't."

He gave her a puzzled look.

"Don't get me wrong, there's nothing more that I would like to do than to spend time with you, to kiss you."

He got up, and wrapped his arms around her waist.

"Oh, really?" They kissed passionately, each one being a little more daring with their movements, but still to shy to do anything big.

"You see, if we stay here alone all we'll do is snog…"

He gave her a look that asked if there was anything wrong with that.

"…and while I say that I like kissing you, I don't want to move things too quickly…"

He knew she was right. He just found her, a person who understood the real him, not the hype. He was beginning to fall deeply in love with her. The last thing he wanted to do was to loose her.

"…you understand, don't you?" she finished quietly, looking down at the floor, unsure of his response. "I know you'll think it's old fashioned or something. I know some that girls in my year, or even younger ones, are doing way more than just kissing…"

"Hermione…"

"…I mean, times change, I realize that…"

"Hermione…"

"…and Cho, well, I've heard of some things she does, so I would understand if…"

Harry couldn't take her ramblings anymore. He bent down and planted his lips firmly on hers. She tried to keep talking for a second, when she realized he was kissing her. When he pulled back she was looking out of breath, but confused.

"Sorry, you were rambling."

He could see she was beginning to get teary eyed.

"Hermione, I've only just found you."

"What do you mean? We've known each other for five years."

He bent down and kissed her. She took the hint.

"Oh, right."

He hugged her close to him, and spoke gently into her ear.

"Hermione, you don't know what it is about you that amazes me so much, so I'll tell you a few of those qualities that I love. Let's start with what anybody but you can see. You're beautiful. I love the way you smile at me, that mischievous sexy smile of yours. You've become a gorgeous, elegant, attractive woman. Your passion for knowledge is inviting, and although I usually avoid it, you still make me want to try harder. I love the look on your face when you're presented with a new challenge, you can see the fire in your eyes. The way you are always sticking up for people, like in S.P.E.W., not spew. You're intelligent, witty, driven, passionate and loving. As for Cho, she could only wish to become half the person you are."

"Harry…" she whimpered.

"No, listen. I love you, Hermione, each minute I feel it even more. I'm a fool for having taken this long to have realized it. I couldn't bear it if I lost you, if I couldn't be with you. The last thing I would ever want to do is hurt you, and I won't let a simple thing like stupid teenage hormones do anything to hurt us. We will go slow, enjoying every minute of it."

He rubbed his hand across her back gently, soothingly.

"Now that I think about it, we'd better. I don't really think I know what I'm doing."

She laughed softly at his attempt to lighten the mood, tears slowly falling down her cheeks.

"Hey, what are these tears for?"

"They're because you're the most understanding boy I know."

She hugged him tightly, as if afraid he was leaving her, as she cried into his chest.

"Man, Hermione, not boy, man. I think all the crying I've done in front of you has made me lose some of my Machoness."

She smiled at him as he removed her tears with his thumbs.

"That's the smile that I love. Now, why don't you call your parents to come pick you up?"

"But what about you, you don't think I'm going to let you stay here all by yourself, do you?"

"No, I figured as much. That's why I'm going to write to Remus. Let's just say that he and I have a lot of things to talk about.

------------------------------

Harry knew that to get back on track, he needed to go back normal, to everything he had neglected since the beginning of the summer. He had loads of schoolwork to do, but first he needed to apologize to those he had ignored. For some reason, Remus seemed like the first logical choice since he had suffered a loss that Harry could relate to.

_Dear Remus,_

_I know that by saying that I haven't been receptive or welcoming since it happened, I'm making major understatement. I realize now that shutting out the people that care about me was the stupidest thing I could have done. It was selfish of me not to consider that you were coping with death of your best friend._

_I think we should talk, face to face. There are things that need to be said in order for us to move forward._

_Hope you're well._

_- Harry_

As he finished the letter he hoped that Remus wasn't to angry with him. He knew he had been a prat, but what was done was done. He wanted to talk to him tonight since Hermione would be leaving soon, so he sent Hedwig out with instructions to fly as fast as she could. He sat there for a moment, watching her fly out the kitchen window. He sighed deeply and turned to the next blank piece of parchment that was in front of him. His next letter wasn't any easier to write than the last one.

_Ron-_

_How you doing, mate? Stupid question, really. You must be two seconds away from coming here and punching my lights out for the way I've been acting. You have every right to be pissed with me. You can say it, by the way, I'm the worlds biggest PRAT! I'm really sorry that I shut you out, you being my best mate and all._

_I know it's a long shot, but would you like to come and visit me at Privet Drive? The Dursleys left me the house for the summer. I'll explain later. Anyway, I know you're mad at me, at least I know I would be, so if you still want to talk to me, feel free to come deck me._

_Hope everyone is doing fine. Tell your mom I'm sorry, and that she shouldn't be angry with Hermione, she'll understand._

_- Harry_

Harry felt no particular satisfaction or comfort with his pathetic attempt at an apology letter as he reread it at an arms length. He tensed up as he felt someone standing behind him, but relaxed quickly when he sensed it was Hermione.

"What do you think?" he said, handing her the letter over his head without looking at her.

"How did you know I was standing behind you?"

"I don't know," he took his glasses off and rubbed his eyes, "I kind of felt you behind me or something, first I felt someone, then I knew it was you. Well?" he asked again.

"Not the best apology letter in the world, but considering who it's coming from and who it's going to, it should do," she answered.

"Thanks, I think. What time are your parents picking you up?"

"They almost didn't, considering it's like 10 p.m., but when my dad heard that we were all alone in the house with no chaperone, he bolted out the door in his bathrobe. He should be here in about two hours."

"Tell you what; I'll make us a late night snack while we wait for your dad."

---------------

They were sitting in the living room enjoying each other's company. She had her head on his shoulder, their hands intertwined, both pretending to avoid the silence with the pretense of watching the telly.

"You wouldn't happen to still have that time turner, would you?" he asked.

"No, why?"

"So this moment can never end."

"Oh, Harry," she leaned over to kiss him. They both fell back on the couch, Hermione lying on top of Harry.

"Since when did you become the romantic type?"

"Don't know really. I guess you just bring out the best in me."

"Good answer," She said, and she kissed him again, each time deepening their kiss further.

If they hadn't been snogging, they would have a CRACK just outside the house.

They were alarmed when there was a short, loud knock on the door. Hermione had been so surprised that she accidentally pushed Harry back, causing him to fall on the floor.

"Ouch! You know, Hermione, you've really got stop doing that."

"I'm sorry, it's just that, well, um…" she was completely startled and flushed, "just tell my dad I'll be there in a second," and she rushed off to the bathroom upstairs to fix her hair.

Harry rearranged his glasses on his face, patted his hair down a bit and took a deep breath before opening the door.

"Good evening, Mr. Granger, Hermione just went…" it wasn't Mr. Granger standing there on the doorway, but

"Remus!"

"Hello there, Harry, nice to see you."

"You got here quick."

"Well, I thought it was as a good as time as any to come see you, I missed you, you know."

Harry had an odd feeling about the conversation. Remus didn't usually act so formal in front of him, and he was incredibly happy about something, relieved even. Harry looked at him and stared, he was smiling down at him, as if there weren't a care in the world. He could see he was getting nervous about something.

"Stupefy!"

Harry only had time open his mouth as the jet of red light hit him squarely on the chest and sent him flying across the hall.

"Surprising, he almost figured it out," the man posing as Remus walked up to the boy laying on the floor and pointed his wand at him, just as Hermione was coming down the stairs. She saw the scene before her, and leaving all logic and reason behind she leapt over the railing, falling feet first over the assailant.

The fake Remus was taken completely by surprise. He got up quickly, looking for his wand, only to find it pointed at him by Hermione, with a panicked but determined look on her face.

"Oh, bravo, Ms. Granger, you'll get extra points for that."

She turned over to the doorway to find none other than Mad-Eye Moody walking over her, the dull clunk heard every other step.

"Pulled one over you, didn't she, Tonks?"

"Tonks?" Hermione said questioningly as she witnessed Remus turn into Tonks.

"What the HELL is going on here?" she screamed.

"Relax there Hermione, Mad-Eye wanted to test Harry."

"Test, what do you mean? You just blasted Harry across the damn hall. No, don't you dare move until you tell me something understandable and believable. I still don't think you are who you say you are."

"I like her more already, a constant vigilant, this one," Moody stated, smiling at her.

"Hermione, I accompanied you earlier to visit the graves to help Harry."

"Yeah, so? That doesn't tell me anything."

"Ok, fine. We took Harry away from here last year by broom."

"Anyone could know that, where did you take him?"

"To Number 12, Grimmauld Place, the home of his now late godfather, Sirius Black," she lowered her tone so her voice could only be heard by Hermione, "the headquarters of the Order of the Phoenix."

Hermione breathed a long, comforting breath and lowered her wand.

"He won't be happy about this."

"It's not about keeping him happy," Moody stated, "it's about keeping him alive."

"Wrong," Hermione spat at him, "that's what caused his depression and his implosion this summer. Help him, train him, but don't lose sight that he's still just a boy. He deserves to enjoy himself, even with a madman on the loose behind him."

"Are you sure you're sixteen?" Tonks asked, smiling at her, "I swear you've really thought about all this like an adult."

"Well, somebody's got to do it; the adults in his life don't seem to want to do that. All they want is for him to save the world, even at the cost of his life."

There was a long silence after her words. Tonks and Moody shifted uncomfortably, knowing it would be wrong to argue with someone who obviously loved Harry so much. They also knew that there was truth in her words.

Hermione tossed Tonks her wand.

"Revive him," she knew she was being rude, that they were looking out for Harry, that they needed to help train him. She just didn't care about it at the moment. She had anticipated something like this happening, Order members coming to help Harry. She just considered it tactless of them to spring this on Harry the same evening of the day he was starting to get back on track.

"The enemy waits for no one," Moody said, as if reading her thoughts.

"What good is Harry to you if he has no will to live, no strength to fight?" she answered back.

A car pulled up just as Harry came around.

"What happened? Where's Remus? Why did he stun me? Who was he?" he asked Hermione.

She helped him up to his feet, and hugged him closely.

"I'll let them explain everything to you and apologize. Dad's here, and he's probably tired from the drive, best not keep him waiting. I love you, and I'll call you tomorrow to get started on the rest of your things."

She gave him a quick kiss and left out the open door without glancing at either Moody or Tonks.

"Ok, what happened, and why is Hermione extremely angry with you?"

"Let's adjourn to the kitchen shall we," Tonks said. "It's going to be a long conversation."

Moody closed the door and mumbled to himself something like "Trusting fool, I should have stunned him again so he'd learn." Harry didn't hear any of it as he followed Tonks towards the kitchen.

Across the street, hidden in the shadows, the curandero watched the whole scene unfold. He smiled to himself and spoke one word into the darkness, "Soon," as he disappeared quietly into the night.

----------------------------

Harry, Moody and Tonks were sitting on the kitchen table. They had just told him everything that had happened. Moody even mentioned how he had failed his test miserably.

"I didn't know, alright," Harry said defensively, "I've had a lot on my mind lately."

"Oh, really? Tell me, do you expect Voldemort or his Death Eaters to send you an owl before they attack you?" Moody asked, quite annoyed at Harry's attitude.

"Ease up there, Moody," Tonks interjected. "You see, Harry, in the past war, the Death Eaters had many ways of succeeding, one of which was extracting information by becoming someone they weren't. That and the imperious curse gave them a lot of information. While some are more paranoid about it than others," she mentioned, looking over at Moody, "it's always good to be on your guard."

"You have a lot to learn, Potter, and now that you seem to be getting your wits back, I'm going to be drilling you. Dumbledore thinks that it's best to wait until you go back to Hogwarts," Harry looked up, happy to side with Dumbledore, "I, on the other hand, refuse to wait. Like I told your friend, the enemy waits for no one."

His magical eye swiveled in its socket to look out the back of his head.

"I can see Remus is here, so I'll be off. You have until your birthday before we begin; after that, you're mine," he smiled menacingly at Harry, then turned and left.

Tonks began to collect the dishes as Remus walked into the room. He usually looked tired, but now he felt worn, drained even. Tonks placed a fresh pot of tea and some biscuits in front of them.

"Well, I'll leave you lads to it," she said goodbye to both and left, leaving Harry and Remus staring at each other. They stared at each for a long time until Harry bent his head down.

"I'm sorry," he began. "I know you were hurting also and needed me to be there to fight through it together, but I just ignored you."

"I'm sorry, too, Harry," Remus responded, "I was too concerned about my grief that I failed to see how much it was destroying you. When Hermione's owl came, I went for the door immediately, but Dumbledore stopped me. He told me it would be better for you if you were accompanied by someone else. I refused, but in the end, they got their way. Later, I realized they were right."

His voiced cracked a bit, showing how difficult it was for him to be saying all of this.

"It been hard," he continued, "trying to take over for Sirius."

"Remus, I…"

"I know that I can never replace him."

"It's not that," Remus looked up to look at Harry. "Right now, I don't need a guardian, I need a friend. I need someone who is older, wiser. Someone who will be there for me, who listens to anything stupid I might say, and who will treat me as an equal."

"If it's OK with you, I would like to try out for that spot."

"It's yours, if you want it."

Remus got up and gave Harry a strong, fatherly hug. The awkwardness was gone. Their three year friendship was back, and Harry was feeling excited about having him around. They didn't lose time catching up.

"So, tell me, what going on between you and Hermione?"

Harry was surprised by the question but began to tell him all about them. Remus laughed at some of Harry's questions.

"You're not supposed to be laughing about this," he said, although he was laughing himself.

"Sorry, it's just that Sirius and James were the ladies men. I guess that my advice would be to take things slowly. You don't want to push her or yourself into something you aren't ready for. Not much help, I know, but believe me, in the end it's worth the wait. After all, the adventure is in the journey. It's like when you travel. Some people like to apparate everywhere. Its fast and easy, but when you have time don't hurry, the landscapes and the sights that you can bear witness to make the journey worth while."

------------------

Harry woke up peacefully in his bed. He missed the company he was getting used to having, but after everything Remus had mentioned, he was in no hurry. As he remembered everything that happened yesterday, he found a clear blue sky, inviting him back from the shadows. He got up quickly and went to the bathroom to get washed and changed. He went down to find the smell of bacon and eggs emerging from the kitchen.

"Well good morning, sleepy head," Remus welcomed him.

Harry laughed heartily at the sight of him. He was wearing his usual shabby clothes, with Aunt Petunia's pink rabbit slippers, a flower patterned bib, and a tall chef's hat.

"Well, what did you expect? I've been up since the crack of dawn, I had to entertain myself with something," he said, joining Harry in his laughter. "So, what are your plans for today?"

"Well, let's see I have a lot of letters that I should answer from people I neglected. I should also review my O.W.L. results and send Professor McGonagall my chosen subjects. Then there's a formal looking scroll from the Black Family Trust which I should look at. I also should go buy some clothes that are my size, for once."

Remus looked at him with a shocked expression. "You just thought about all that?"

"No," he said, starting to laugh as he pulled a piece of parchment from his jeans, "Hermione left me a To-Do List pinned to my bedroom door," they both laughed heartily at her thoughtfulness, "I'm just lucky she didn't give each activity a due date."

-------------------------

Ron was outside, lying down on the soft grass, treating his sore muscles after an afternoon of de-gnoming the garden by himself. When he came back home, he found out that this chore was now exclusively his. He wasn't too pleased with his mother's arguments on the subject.

"All you brothers work now," Mrs. Weasley had said, "since you're the only one not working, your work is around the house."

"But what about Ginny?" he retorted. "She should have more chores as well."

"Ginny helps out around the house in different ways, Ron. Besides, de-gnoming is not is not work for girls."

Ron was still mulling over everything that had happened since he came back home. He was surprised to be coming back home and not to Grimmauld Place. His father said the house had refused entrance to anyone, including Dumbledore. It had something to do with the owner allowing it to. While happy at first to be looking at a full summer at home, his happiness was short lived. He had sent Harry letter every so often, each of them unanswered. He knew, of course, that Harry would be having a rough time dealing with Sirius's death. He just wasn't expecting his best friend to shut him out.

He tried to find comfort in Hermione, his other best friend, never really finding it. Every letter they had exchanged had been on Harry. What to do, how to help, those kinds of things. He found himself being putout finding her responses to dealing with Harry longer than her responses to anything else. He had invited her over to the Burrow to spend some time together, which she refused.

"Can't we talk about anything that's not related to Harry?" he said to himself as he got up and walked over to the trees nearby.

He sat down at the foot of a large oak tree, his back towards his house. In his reeling about his friends being "too busy" for him, he had taken to smoking. Fred and George had said that smoking from a pipe usually helped put things into perspective. Scared about their knowledge of those matters, and after being their guinea pig for their new Long-lasting Smoke Ring Tobacco, he found himself always sitting in the same spot, smoking, wondering, his insecurities making him doubt if his friends even thought about him anymore. He didn't really like the smell or the taste of what he was smoking, he just found himself doing it for a lack of something better to do. With more chores and not seeing his friends, he was startled to find himself wishing school would start sooner.

He was brought away from his thought by the screeching of an owl. He looked up to find Hedwig flying down towards him. As soon as he had removed the letter from her foot, she flew off hooting towards him in disapproval of how he smelled. Ron shrugged it off and looked down at the letter in his hand. At first he was excited to finally be getting a letter from Harry, but as he stared at his name written in Harry's untidy scrawl, he found his thoughts creeping up behind him.

"Why should I open this, when he has ignored me all this time?"

He thought about ripping it apart, but remembered everything his friend was probably going through.

"You'd better have a good reason for what you did, Harry," he said to himself as he sat down to read the letter.

-----------------------------

Harry and Remus were in the living room, staring at the pile of letters that they had brought down from Harry's room. Harry tried to postpone doing anything until later, but Remus gave him a few chosen words to make him think otherwise.

"Just think what Hermione will do or say to you when she comes by and finds that you haven't even started."

He was right. He was now in a relationship with her, he didn't want to hear her tell him how disappointed she was in him or how he always procrastinated everything.

"Don't leave for tomorrow what you can finish today," he remembered the homework diary she had given him.

"Where do you think I should start?" he asked Remus.

"Well I would suggest with your O.W.L.'s, you don't want Professor McGonagall hounding you on which subjects you'll be taking next year," he stated, handing the letter to Harry.

He stared at the official-looking letter in front of him.

"Maybe I should read them to you."

"No, I got it."

He reached over, and pulled the letter out Remus's hands. He took a deep breath and opened the letter two finds to sheets of parchment inside, the first a letter explaining his results, the other showing them.

_Dear Mr. Potter,_

_Enclosed you will find the results of your Ordinary Wizarding Level tests. Each grade is the average of both the theoretical and practical parts of each exam. In those that only contain a theoretical portion, your grade will be the one given._

_The marks used to evaluate your scores are: Outstanding, Exceeds Expectations, Acceptable, Poor, and Dreadful. The last passing grade is Acceptable._

_Your results are found in the attached parchment._

_Professor Griselda Marchbanks_

_Wizarding Examination Authority_

Harry turned to second parchment and read his results out loud.

_Ordinary Wizard Level results for Harry James Potter. _

_Astronomy_

_Theory: Acceptable_

_Practical: Poor_

_Mark: Poor_

_O.W.L. Received: No_

_Care of Magical Creatures_

_Theory: Exceeds Expectations_

_Practical: Outstanding_

_Mark: Exceeds Expectations_

_O.W.L. Received: Yes_

_Charms_

_Theory: Exceeds Expectations_

_Practical: Exceeds Expectations_

_Grade: Exceeds Expectations_

_O.W.L. Received: Yes_

_Defense Against the Dark Arts_

_Theory: Outstanding_

_Practical: Outstanding_

_Grade: Outstanding_

_O.W.L. Received: Yes_

_Divination_

_Theory: Acceptable_

_Practical: Dreadful_

_Grade: Poor_

_O.W.L. Received: No_

_Herbology_

_Theory: Acceptable_

_Practical: Exceeds Expectations_

_Grade: Exceeds Expectations_

_O.W.L. Received: Yes_

_History of Magic_

_Theory: Poor_

_Practical: NA_

_Grade: Poor_

_O.W.L. Received: No_

_Potions_

_Theory: Exceeds Expectations_

_Practical: Exceeds Expectations_

_Grade: Exceeds Expectations_

_O.W.L. Received: Yes_

_Transfiguration_

_Theory: Exceeds Expectations_

_Practical: Exceeds Expectations_

_Grade: Exceeds Expectations_

_O.W.L. Received: Yes_

_Total O.W.L.'s Received: 6_

Harry was still staring at his results.

"Good job, Harry, six O.W.L.'s," he noticed the crestfallen look on Harry face. "What's wrong?"

"I didn't get an Outstanding in Potions," he stated blandly.

"Well, an Exceeds Expectations is still pretty good. It's better than your father or I did."

"No, it's not that. I needed an Outstanding to get into N.E.W.T. Potions. Snape won't take anyone in without that mark. With no N.E.W.T. Potions, I can't become an auror."

"Oh," he responded. Seeing the look on Harry's face, he said "Don't worry about it, Harry. I doubt very much that it will matter if you want to become an auror."

"Damn it, I don't want any special treatments," he yelled back, his anger rising rapidly.

"I'm sorry, Harry, I didn't mean to upset you," he was shocked at Harry's change in tone.

"No, I apologize," calming down. "It's just that, well, I don't deserve any short cuts. I want to earn my way just like anybody else. I don't want anyone saying that I got any sort of special treatment because I'm the Boy-Who-Lived or any of that. You understand, don't you," he finished pleadingly.

Remus looked at him and smiled, "Of course I understand, Harry. I would expect nothing less from you. Don't worry about Snape, though. Seeing as how things are getting on in the world, I think all teachers will be 'asked' to take in more students into their advanced classes than they usually would. Merlin knows, some of those skills will be useful in the times to come."

Harry thought about what he said. Personally, not having Potions would mean no more Snape, but even though he hated him, he knew the class was important.

He turned over to Professor McGonagall's letter.

_Dear Mr. Potter,_

_As always, term will begin on September the first. The Hogwarts Express will leave from Kings Cross station, platform nine and three-quarters, at eleven o'clock. _

_As an upcoming sixth year, it is important that you select the classes you wish to take in order to further your areas of interest. While some require having obtained an O.W.L. in that class, there are also electives in which you might want to partake. You are required to choose at least three classes. Please go over the enclosed form and select the classes you wish to take. A letter will be sent to you telling you whether or not you have accepted into said classes and the materials you will need for each. If you should be denied admittance to a class, your Head of House shall suggest alternative classes to take._

_Yours Sincerely,_

_Professor M. McGonagall_

_Deputy Headmistress_

The form was simple enough. It had a list of the available classes followed by seven lines. He went through the list of classes until he reached some that he had never heard of. Some of those classes were: Study of Ancient Magic, Basic Medicine, Woodshop: Wand and Broom Manufacturing, Magical Geography: The Study of Magical Locations around the world, and many more.

After thinking about it he wrote down his classes.

Defense Against the Dark Arts

Transfiguration

Charms

Potions

Care of Magical Creatures

Study of Ancient Magic

He wasn't sure why he wrote down the last one. He had heard Dumbledore say that Voldemort despised ancient magic, thus his weak spot, but Harry felt something else nagging in the back of his mind. He thought about what Hermione might say about his choices, but shrugged it of by thinking to himself that although he wasn't taking a full course load, something other than Quidditch would come up. It always did. Remus looked over his shoulder at his choices.

"You've made excellent choices, Harry. That schedule should prove to be an interesting year."

"With or without it, it's always an 'interesting' year."

Remus laughed at Harry's sarcasm.

"Yeah, well, never a dull moment with you, eh?"

--------------------

Ron was still sitting against the tree; the letter was now on the ground before him. He did apologize, he did recognize he was being an ass, even suggested physical abuse as punishment, but that wasn't the problem. Ever since that first day on the Hogwarts Express on their first year, they became best friends. They were inseparable; they did everything together, well, almost anything. For one reason or another, when Harry was feeling down, Ron could never make him feel better.

"What kind of a friend am I if I can't help him when he needs it?" he spoke out loud to himself. "Sure, I'm there with him in most of his adventures, but that's not what I mean. I'm always there out of loyalty, but never really understanding what I'm doing. Should guys help each other with their emotional problems? Am I gay for thinking that I should? OK, that's a definite NO."

He didn't hear someone approach him from behind.

"So, Harry's writing again?"

He turned around startled to find his younger sister looking down at him.

"How did you find me?"

"It wasn't hard, you're always here. Anyways, even if you didn't, all I would have to do is to follow that awful smell," she finished smiling down at him. She noticed that her brother had a lot on his mind. "Aren't you happy that he wrote to you?" she asked, picking up the letter and skimming through it. "He even invited you over." She still got no response from him. "OK, what's the matter?" she asked taking a seat in front of him.

"He's doing better, no question about that. It's just…"

"You feel left out because you weren't there to help?" she finished tentatively.

"Yeah, something like that."

"So, maybe Professor Lupin had a long chat with him and got things sorted out."

"No, only one person can have that much effect on Harry."

"Who?" She already knew the answer, but she inquired anyway.

"Hermione."

-------------------

Harry was done writing letters to all of his friends. He was amazed at how much post he got from Ginny, Neville and Luna. Ginny and Neville had always been friends, but never as much as to write to him so much. Luna he had just met last year, and although strange didn't begin to describe her, he liked having her as a friend.

"What is it about near death experiences that bring people together," he had thought to himself as he finished the last letter.

He had answered each of them individually, but basically said the same thing. He thanked them for their concern, he was feeling better now, he was glad to hear from them and they would see each other on September first at the latest. It wasn't much, but it was something he convinced himself. He sent of all his post at the same time, receiving a wide-eyed expression from Hedwig. Hermione was going to spend the next few days with her parents, so that left Harry with Remus.

He had been eyeing the scroll containing Sirius's will all day; he just couldn't bring himself to open it.

"Couldn't you open it for me?" he asked Remus in childlike way.

"No, it's charmed so only you can do that. Besides, would you really want me to?"

"I hate reverse psychology."

They moved back into the kitchen to make lunch. They made themselves a heavy, "manly", as Remus put it, lunch consisting of lots of different meats and greasy food. Remus placed scroll next to Harry's seat, which didn't go unnoticed.

"You're enjoying this aren't you?"

"Me, what ever gave you that idea?" he said, grinning stupidly at him.

Harry knew he was being a baby about the whole thing.

"You want to be treated like an adult, better start acting like one," he thought to himself.

He grabbed the scroll removed the seal.

"What no sparks or pixie dust?" he asked cheekily.

"Nope, and that's a good thing mind you."

_The Noble and Most Ancient House of Black Family Trust_

_Mr. Potter,_

_In accordance with the last will and testament of one Sirius Black, last of the noble Black family, I find myself as the bearer of the Black Trust which I am instructed to present to you. Usually I present myself to the recipient of said Trust, but following orders, I am to await your arrival at my office, located inside the Gringotts bank within twenty four hours of your opening of this letter. In said meeting, I will present to you everything that has been left for you, as well as the guidelines to receive each item. I will be awaiting your arrival tomorrow, precisely at 3 o'clock in the afternoon. _

_Sincerely,_

_Ungh Kablidook_

_Head of Magical Trusts and Wills & Testaments_

"Looks like you've got to make a stop at Gringotts tomorrow. You should probably do the rest of your shopping then. Once your training with Mad-Eye starts, you won't get a chance."

"Yeah, I'm really looking forward to getting my butt blasted all over the place."

"Well it could be worse, Snape could be teaching you."

"True, but at least I would be able to blast him back. I learned some good ones from the books you gave me."

"Now, that must be why he refused to teach you. Being cursed by your father was embarrassing to him, but having his son do the same thing, well, that would just be humiliating."

They both laughed heartily, enjoying the thought of cursing Snape all over the place.


End file.
